If you’re a fan of Adam McKay’s work (Anchorman, Step Brothers, Talladega Nights) and/or a fan of musical numbers, you should be pretty happy with this news. It sounds as if Anchorman 2 is going to feature at least one musical sequence with a bit more movement to it; no word yet on if any jazz flute will be featured. McKay also revealed a bit more about the plot of the sequel, which is set in the world of 24 hour news and will still probably not include a Ghost Rider cameo. The writer/director is currently revising the script with star Will Ferrell and, though shooting is expected to start in March, there is no release date scheduled as of now. Hit the jump to see what McKay had to say.

While doing interviews for his executive produced independent dark comedy Fully Loaded, McKay spilled a few quotes to The Playlist. It’s hard to believe, but it will be almost ten years since the original film by the time Anchorman 2 hits the screens. So what were McKay and the brain trust doing in the meantime (besides all of their other films)?

“We were going to do ‘Anchorman 2′ as a Broadway musical first, for like six months and then go shoot the movie. That was our initial idea.”

McKay elaborated on this quote to suggest just how much music will find its way into Anchorman 2:

“Whole song sequences, absolutely. The music sequences we have done — we did ‘Afternoon Delight’ [in ‘Anchorman‘], Adam Scott and his family singing ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ [in ‘Step Brothers‘], we did a whole song for ‘Talladega Nights‘ that got cut out, a big, big musical number — we always do it live on the set. And my thing is, if the actors get freaked out, don’t sweat it, we can always re-record it later. And every time we’ve done it, we end up using the live track from the recording. We’ll probably do it the same way in this. This one might have a little more movement in it, and the only problem with that is the actors get winded.”

It’ll certainly be interesting to see how Anchorman 2 handles its own little Les Mis moment, but few plot details have been released so far. McKay talks a bit more about the central conceit:

“Even thought it’s going to be a big silly movie, it’s all about the rise of the new media and 24 hour news cycle, and there’s a lot of interesting points to make about that while being silly.”

When asked if Ron Burgundy would have a Mr. Smith Goes to Washington moment, he responded:

“It’s been discussed, there’s a little wisp of [talk]. We’d never do it straight ahead, we gotta fuck with it in some way. Because Ron Burgundy isn’t quite Jimmy Stewart in character, so if he does, he’s not going to do it well. But there’s a little bit of that going on. I mean what is this 24 hours news, and this wall of white noise information, has it really been good for our country? The great thing when you find a point of view like that is that it doesn’t have to be preachy or didactic, it’s also funny. It’s just funny that Americans have to contend with 2000 channels, and 60 different specific news sources, and the confusion that it creates, and the junk that we get to see is hilarious. That’s what we’re always kinda looking for, what’s the point of view that’s got life to it and plays.”

The original film was adored in part for its brief cameos (Vince Vaughn, Luke Wilson, Tim Robbins, Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Seth Rogen and Danny Trejo). McKay made sure to stress that the supporting cast of day players for the sequel would be top talent as well:

“We’re talking about for ‘Anchorman 2′ creating a murderer’s row of the best day players ever. Like having every single one line or three line role, just be someone we just love. Someone like Ian Roberts or Rob Huebel or Paula Killen — just making sure every day player is a homerun.”